The Human Question

Behe's argument for intelligent design hinges upon the notion of irreducible complexity found in nature. But if you ask. me (uh, nobody did...), what's more interesting than irreducible complexity is irreducible simplicity: that is, the way in which higher level operations are related to lower level operations. Scientists and philosophers who recognize this irreducibility often refer to it as "emergence." Polanyi discusses it in The Tacit Dimension. Aquinas talks about something quite similar as well (especially when he compares how the sensus communis is related to the proper senses). I'll call this characteristic "emergence" without intended to subscribe to any particular explanation of how these higher level powers arise in the first place. Although Behe doesn't mention emergence, the complexity that he calls "irreducible" has a couple of similarities to emergent properties. Both involve a whole that relies upon its many parts...

In The Greatest Show on Earth, Dawkins describes a decades long experiment in which, after 33,000 generations of bacteria, one of twelve flasks developed the ability to ingest citrate. This required two mutations. The (the A mutation, he calls it) first happened in the 20,000th generation, providing no benefit. But 13K generations later, a second, B mutation made possible something quite radically new. All of the other adaptations were linear, but this one jumped off the charts. He cites this as a result that disproves the impossibility of the arising of structures that have irreducible complexity. Worthy point, but I can't help but wonder whether it actually supports the argument made by Behe, for he argues not that it is impossible, but that it is improbable. The worthwhile question is: what about those other eleven flasks: did they also eventually undergo both the A and B mutations? After 40k generations? 60K? 80K? 120K? 2M? In other words, given the long terms r...